2022 CAD/CAM Report: The digital decade

2022 CAD/CAM Report: The digital decade



The past 10 years have brought about remarkable advances in science and technology.To get more news about cad computer aided design, you can visit shine news official website.
In 2012, the discovery of the Higgs boson was made public. In 2019, the first image of a black hole was captured while the most notable influence on society has undoubtedly been the rise of smartphones and the impact of social media.
Advances in science and technology have also reshaped a number of retail industries.
It’s been a significant period of advancement for the use of technology within the jewellery industry, particularly when it comes to Computer-Aided Design and Computer-Aided Manufacturing (CAD/CAM).

Jeweller published its first report in June 2012 on the state of CAD/CAM within the Australian jewellery industry.

“The Australian jewellery industry is three to 10 years behind the rest of the world with its implementation of retail computer-aided design (CAD) systems, which has partly been due to our smaller market and the exclusion of global competition,” the report stated.

“It’s futile to ignore the foreign invaders any longer because retailers who work with technology can deliver quality productions in less time with more competitive pricing than their competitors.”

At the time, the question on the minds of retailers was whether or not CAD/CAM would become a significant ‘force’ in the jewellery industry.Would it make a lasting impact on the trade, or come and go like so many other ideas once entertained as revolutionary?

It didn’t take long for that question to be answered. With manufacturing costs shrinking with each passing year, the industry has increasingly embraced technology which has showcased increasingly user-friendly functionality and cost-effectiveness.

Boutique Comeback
The Pallion Group is the largest precious metals services group in Australasia with manufacturing facilities located in Melbourne, Sydney, Hong Kong and Shenzen
Left to right: Palloys was one of the first Australian countries to embrace CADCAM; Intricate designs created by Palloys. Image credits: Palloys

Since the 1950s, Palloys – one of six entities which forms the Pallion Group – has taken pride in the expansion of jewellery casting, custom jewellery production and CAD/CAM services on offer.

Palloys was an early adopter of CAD/CAM and in 2012, was one of the first companies to share insight with Jeweller on the rise of the technology in the jewellery industry.

Ten years ago, head of operations, Manuel Kalergis, had this to say about the future of the trade.

“You’ll see CAM wax printing getting smoother and turnaround times for CAD drawing reduced,” Kalergis said.
The laser fuses powdered metal layer by layer by scanning cross sections generated from a CAD file. DMLS technology bypasses the casting process all together and will produce stronger products, comparable to CNC manufacturing.”

One decade later, Palloys operations manager Chris Botha says those predictions were close to the mark but not quite in line with what was to come, showcasing that advances in technology aren’t always linear.

“Interestingly, the improvement we foresaw in CAM wax printing seems to be more observable in resins. Resin machines have become exponentially cheaper over the past 10 years,” he says.“The CAD software industry is moving towards a future where consumers have greater control and autonomy. With the constant technological evolution, now there are many more user-friendly, lower-cost options available for users in terms of 3D Printers.